Like Father, Like Daughter
by Lycanthrope516
Summary: It's Zephyr's 18th birthday, and she's sick of hearing about how great having a dragon is. It's time she trains one herself. But when she and her friends set out to do just that, they come out with much more than they bargained for, and finally begin to understand what it was their parents had gone through all those years ago.


She wasn't like the other girls her age. She wasn't a dedicated shield maiden, or a simple home maker. Sure, she knew how to wield a sword and shield, a mace, or any other weapon that crossed her path—her mother had made sure of that—but she wasn't a warrior. In most respects, she was a lot like her father: stubborn, curious, ingenuitive, and reckless. She likes to think that she is the best of both her parents: beautiful and strong like her mother, but stubborn and curious like her father. How could she not be like him when she grew up on stories of Vikings flying into battle on the backs of dragons, her father being the one to have started it all. In truth, she looked up to him, and she lived in his shadow. How could she ever hope to be that great, that bold?

She was eighteen that day, and there wasn't a weapon she didn't know how to wield, a course she couldn't chart, a place on the island she hadn't been. Every morning she sat on the dragon's last ledge, and every morning she stared at her copy of her father's map, searching for clues. She'd been to the edge of the Hidden World before, when she was very little, to visit her father's dragon. She'd met Stormfly, and Toothless, and even the night lights, but still she felt like something was missing. She tries to let it go, having grown out of the child she had been, but sometimes she feels cheated. Her parents had such a connection with the dragons, and she had to watch from the sidelines her whole life.

Well not anymore. Today was the day. She was going to ask her father to help her train a dragon.

She stood up from her perch on the ledge and took one last look out at the horizon, but as always, there was no dragon to steal her from the village, no fairytale adventure for the chief's daughter. She'd have to make her own. She tucked her map beneath her leathers and walked back to the village. She couldn't help but smile though, as on her way to the great hall she passed many familiar faces, all of them calling out "good morning!" and "happy birthday!" She smiled and nodded but never slowed; she was a woman with purpose, and she had somewhere to be.

New Berk's great hall wasn't as grand as the one of old, but it was the only great hall she'd known. To her, it was a grand, wooden structure with a deck in front of it instead of the hundred stairs her father had to climb as a child—personally, she preferred the deck. She saw children playing in the melting snow, and they waved, smiling their toothy grins that always made her grin right back.

The great hall was crazy today, more so than usual. Everyone was running around moving tables, cooking, hanging up decorations, for the chief's daughter's eighteenth birthday was a big deal. Today, she could officially assume her responsibilities as heir. People who passed her yelled out congratulations and well wishes, but they were busy, and besides, she was on a mission. If she was going to get her parents to let her train a dragon, then she needed some very special help.

She needed the Ingerman twins.

Thankfully, they weren't hard to spot. They hung upside down from the rafters, hanging streamers and banners and pushing at each other, no doubt in the name of some godsforsaken experiment. In her opinion, they were definitely more Thorston than Ingerman, but who was she to meddle? Eventually, one shoved the other and she watched Mord fall from the rafters and into the grain below. His sister followed shortly after, albeit swinging down much more elegantly than her brother's tumbling heap of limbs, and landed beside him, holding her stomach as she laughed.

Zephyr watched all this from a safe distance, as she learned very young that one should never stand too close to the Ingerman twins, lest they sweep you up in their games and you come out with a bloody nose. Finally, she cleared her throat and the two turned to her, like sheep seeing a dragon for the first time.

"Zephyr!" Runa yelled, running to her and picking her up, swinging her in a wide arc yelling, "Happy birthday! Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday!"

Zephyr thought she'd suffocate, but thankfully, Runa released her tight hold and Zephyr stumbled back, heaving air whoosh back into her lungs and whispering a quiet, "Thanks."

"So, Zeph, Zephy, the ol' Zephster, how does it feel to be the big 1-8?" Mord asked, bouncing back from his fall as if it hadn't even happened and coming to stand beside his sister.

"Oh you know same old same old." Zephyr mumbled, hating the attention but at the same time relishing it.

"Really? You don't feel any different? We always feel different on our birthday—"

"That's because you can't tell the difference between you and me, idiot."

"Oh, yeah. We do look similar….are you sure you're not just my clone?"

"Urrrrg!" Runa yelled, jumping on her brother.

"Guys. Guys! GUYS!" Zephyr shouted, and the twins looked to her, Runa's braids clamped between her brother's teeth. "Cut it out! I need your help. Stop being Thorstons for two seconds and channel that Ingerman spirit I know you have and focus."

The twins shared a glance and disentangled from one another, mumbling muffled apologies interspersed by threats at each other.

"I need your help."

"Ooooh! What is it? Wrangling boars? Chasing sheep? Hunting for dragon scales?!" Mord yelled, his mind running a thousand miles per second.

"No. Come on, we can't talk here." Zephyr said, taking their hands and dragging them out of the great hall and towards the forest, but they didn't get far.

"Zephyr! Hold on! I'm coming to save you!"

A dark blur sprung from seemingly out of nowhere and tackled the twins to the ground, shouting, "Sigrid! Sigrid! Oi! Oi! Oi!"

"Oh, here we go." Zephyr mumbled, letting her hand cover her face for a moment of frustration. "Sigrid. SIGRID! It's fine! I was taking them out to the forest."

"Ooh, are we finally going to get rid of them?" Sigrid asked, running a finger across her throat as she sat on the twins.

"We are NOT going to kill them, Sigrid. I just needed their help with something."

"Oh. Cause if you're ever looking to hide a body…I know a spot. Or several. You know I've lost count, come to think of it."

"I am going to pretend you didn't just say that and move on as if nothing happened." Zephyr said, stepping over the pile of her friends and heading to forest, knowing their curiosity would get the better of them and that they would follow her. "Come on guys, we haven't got all day."

Her friends scrambled over each other, stumbling to catch up with the brisk pace she'd set.

"Zephyr…where are we going…?!" Mord whined, his already testy attention span completely shot.

"Don't worry, Mord, we're almost there…." She said, just as they came upon a dirt ledge overlooking a small beach. It used to be littered with black and white scales that Zephyr had come to realize later were Toothless' and his mate's. This was the place they courted. She loved coming here because no one except her parents knew about it, and they didn't like coming back there, anyway. At least, she thought no one else knew about it.

"There she is! The birthday girl! Come 'ere, you!"

"Eret? How do you know about this place?" Zephyr said, nearly falling down the slope in her rush to get to him. Eret was the only one of her friends with even a bit of smarts in him. Like his father, Eret, he was a master strategist and knew a lot about sailing and plants. A strange combination but one that Zephyr had come to appreciate from the countless scrapes they'd gotten one another into.

"You know me. I have expert tracking abilities…" He began, but at the look she gave him he chuckled sheepishly and amended his statement. "Okay, I saw you sneaking out of your hut early in the morning a lot and finally I decided to follow you."

"That's what I thought." Zephyr said, planting her hands on her hip, but in truth she was happy to see him; he'd been gone with his father on a sea voyage for months, and she'd missed him.

"Happy birthday, Zeph." He said, pulling her in for a hug.

Sigrid, who Zephyr swore stopped aging at ten, whistled, which of course led to the twins trying to get in between Eret and Zephyr, which ended with the five of them in a pile on the sand, limbs flying and bruises forming.

"Ech!" Spat Zephyr, trying to get the sand and out of her mouth, but to no avail. "You guys are the woooooorst." She groaned, but they all knew she didn't mean it. They laughed, untangling limb from limb and braid from braid until they sat in a circle in the sand. Zephyr cleared her throat; although, it still felt like there was sand in her lungs, and like the chief she'd one day become, addressed them.

"Alright. You remember all those stories that our parents used to tell us? About riding dragons and fighting hunters, and Drago, and even Grimmel?" She asked.

"Uh…Duh. How could we not? My dad rode the coolest dragon.", sang Sigrid.

"Hey don't forget my mom—"

"And Uncle Tuff!"

"And Uncle Tuff. They, obviously, rode the coolest dragon!" Runa said, and like two yaks butting heads, Sigrid and Runa locked helmets.

"Okay, it doesn't matter who rode the coolest dragon!" Zephyr shouted, and waited as their grumbles settled. "I mean don't you guys wonder what it would be like to ride a dragon?"

"What do you mean? We've ridden before, Mom and Dad and Uncle Tuff took us to visit." Runa pointed out.

"Well yeah, I've ridden Toothless and Stormfly before, too, but don't you wish you could ride a dragon of your own?"

"Of course, we do, Zeph, but you know our parents. There's no way they'd let us." Eret said.

"Yeah. Mom and Uncle Tuff? Maybe. But Dad? Nuh-uh. Good luck getting him on board." Mord added.

"Don't worry about that. If we can convince _my _parents, then yours will have to let you. I need your help convincing my dad." Zephyr said.

"_Your _Dad? Like, Chief Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third? Dragon Trainer and epic warrior? Have you completely lost your mind, Haddock!?" Sigrid shouted, rapping on Zephyr's head with her knuckles, as if to see if there were any brains in her head at all.

"Ow, Ow! I'm not crazy, Sig! I'm serious! I want to train a dragon, and I need you guys to help me convince my dad that I can do it!" She looked at them, desperate for them to understand, because if they couldn't then she really didn't have a chance. "I mean come on; you guys are always getting your dad to let you do crazy stuff!" She continued, staring at the twins.

"Yeah, well our dad is very easy to manipulate; he's scared of everything!" Runa said.

"Especially mom.", chimed her brother.

"Exactly! So, all we have to is annoy mom into scaring dad, and bam! Home free. But your dad doesn't seem like the kind to let himself get scared or annoyed into anything." Runa said.

"Yeah, I've tried. Your Dad is unanonable. Unannoyingingible. Unannoy—"

"Unanoyable." Runa finished.

"Well great! Then what do you suggest I do? Just ask him upfront?! No plan? No forethought?!"

"Look, Zeph. Sometimes you just have to follow your gut. If you really want to train a dragon, then you just have to go for it. Just promise me you won't leave us behind when you do." Runa said, winking.

"Wow was that actual advice from Runa Ingerman?" Zephyr joked.

"Hey, I can be wise sometimes, I'm not all Thorston…. He is, but I'm not." She pointed a thumb at her brother.

"Hey!" Mord shouted, then looked at his friends and shrugged. "Yeah, okay. I am all Thorston." He relented, and the five of them burst into laughter not a second later. They spent the rest of the afternoon doing exactly what Runa suggested: following their gut and having fun. They rolled in the sand, went for a swim, talked and chatted just like they always had. Their parents may not have always been friends, but for as long as they've been alive, Zephyr, Runa, Mord, Sigrid, and Eret have.

So, it wasn't strange at all to see the five laughing teenagers stumble into the Great Hall that evening to a chorus of "happy birthday!"s. and "about time!". One stuck out though. Zephyr's father stood front and center, absolutely beaming. Her friends all clapped her on the back and chanted a chorus of farewells, each going their separate ways to their families, and Zephyr turned to face her own.

"Happy birthday, Zeph." Hiccup said, hugging his daughter close to him.

"Thanks, Dad." She mumbled into his shoulder, extracting herself from his hold, she continued, "So what's on the menu?" She was starving.

"Everything!" Hiccup said, gesturing at the whole hall.

He laughed, shoving at her as they made their way to the long table at the front of the hall: the chief's table. Her mother and brother were already there, and her brother was digging into his food, as always. Zephyr laughed, plopping down on the bench beside her little brother. He was a bit lanky for his age, but he was already broader in the shoulders than she was at his age, so she had no doubt in her mind that he would outgrow her eventually. But for now, he was still her little brother, and she treated him as such, pulling him into a headlock and kissing his cheek, leaving her spit all over him.

"Blech! Zephyr!" He whined, desperately struggling to get out of her grip.

"What? I'm just trying to show my favorite little brother, how much I looooooove him." She said, planting an equally slobbery kiss on his other cheek.

"Ewwww! You're so gross! Worst sister ever!" He said, finally breaking out of her hold and scrubbing furiously at his face to get her spit off of him.

"Hey now, you can't say that; it's my birthday." She pouted. "Don't you have something you'd like to say to me…?"

"Happy birthday." He grumbled, but ultimately caved in and pulled his sister in for a hug.

"Thanks little brother. Now go on, eat your mutton. 'A Viking needs his strength'." She said, mimicking her grandmother's accent.

"She's right you know. A Viking needs his strength."

The two siblings turned around, and their faces broke out into grins.

"Grandma!" They yelled, leaping off the bench to hug their grandmother. Valka chuckled, hugging them tight. She ruffled Nuffink's hair a bit and then turned to Zephyr, holding her by the arms.

"Oh, look at you…you're so beautiful, Zephyr. Happy birthday, sweetheart."

"Thank you, grandma. Come on, sit down, Ruffnut made mutton." Zephyr said, seating her grandmother beside her brother, and hugging them both.

Zephyr herself didn't get much of a chance to sit down. She spent the rest of the night greeting well wishers and dancing with Viking boys who thought they had a shot with the chief's daughter. They didn't, but they didn't let that stop them from asking, and Zephyr had a blast out dancing them all.

Occasionally, she caught a glimpse of her family, or of her friends, or of Gobber, who she actively avoided because there was no doubt in her mind he'd try and get her to drink an entire keg of mead. Which, not to say she wouldn't want to…just that she'd like to keep some of her wits about her that night.

But as with all great parties in New Berk, she knew it was time to start herding the guest out when Snotlout and Tuffnut began singing, which started about an hour ago. Thankfully, her father took pity on her, and with his help they managed to get Snotlout and Tuffnut home, as well as the rest of the Vikings packing. Finally, everyone was on their way out, and she and her father made their way slowly back to their hut.

Her father didn't like to admit it, but his leg bothered him more and more as the years went by, and big parties like this really took their toll on him, so it wasn't much of a surprise that he leaned on her on their way home. She kicked the door open and deposited her father in his chief's chair that had sat in their home ever since she could remember. Her mother said it looked almost identical to the one they had on Old Berk, with a few additional carvings to remind her father of where he came from and what he sacrificed to get here.

To Zephyr, though, it made no difference, for she had never seen Old Berk, only ever heard the stories, and that is exactly what made her sit down across from her father, water boiling on the fire behind her, for tea.

"Dad?" She asked quietly, breaking the dead silence that had blanMorded their home.

"Hm?" He peeked out at her from closed eyes; he must have been really tired.

"Since today is my birthday, and I'm eighteen, I figured maybe it's time for me to explore a bit. Like you did when you were my age."

At this, Hiccup straightened in his chair, looking at his daughter with full attention. His day wasn't over yet.

"Oh, Zeph. Trust me, there's nothing more in the world I want than for you to get the chance to explore the seas of the archipelago. But that would take you years where it took me only one. You can't leave Berk for that long; I need you here, helping me chief."

"Right, I know that. Of course, but what if I didn't have to be gone for long? I mean, you got to explore the whole archipelago on the back of a Night Fury, dad!"

"So what, you want to just take Toothless and go exploring? Zeph, that's not how it works. You know that."

"That's not what I meant! Let me go to the Hidden World. Help me train a dragon of my own, and when I've seen all there is to see, I'll come back."

"What? No. No, absolutely not. The dragons aren't ours to train anymore, and as much as I wish they were they aren't. So, no. You're just going to have to stay here."

"But, dad!" She shouted, jumping out of her chair, all reason gone. "Imagine what I could do with a dragon. I could see the world, discover new places and people, new—"

"No! I said no, Zephyr!"

"Dad, please! If you would just listen to me!"

"You aren't going to go train a dragon, and that's the end of it!"

"Dad!"

"Enough, Zephyr!"

"Please!"

"No! You can't train a dragon, Zephyr! You've never done it, and you'll never be able to! You're just not ready!"

Whatever she was going to say died at those words. She looked at her father, tears in her eyes and shock keeping her from speaking. She knew he was stubborn but she never thought he'd say something like that. When she was little, he used to tell her she was the smartest girl he knew. But clearly she wasn't smart enough to know that he didn't believe in her. Tears streamed down her face and without a word she turned, bolting out of the hut, regardless of how childish it made her seem. Right then, she didn't care about her reputation, only about getting out.

"Zephyr! Zephyr, wait! I didn't mean that!" He shouted, standing up from his seat and going to follow her, but stumbling as his leg caught on the edge of his chair. Thankfully, his wife was there to catch him, as she always was.

"Let her go, Hiccup. Give her space. She'll come back." Astrid said, lifting her husband back into the chair he'd toppled from. He sighed, burying his head in his hands.

"How much of that did you hear?" He mumbled.

"Enough."

"And Finn?"

"He heard it, too. Don't worry, he's not going anywhere. He knows his sister better than any of us; she needs space."

"Oh Gods, Astrid, what did I do?" He moaned, looking up at his wife as if she had all the answers.

"You told her 'no' Hiccup. You could have gone about it better, but she needed to hear it."

"I know that, it's just….I can't help but feel like I betrayed her? She grew up hearing about all of our adventures, dreaming that one day she'd get to fly a dragon of her own, and I never told her it wasn't possible. I let her believe that one day she'd get the same chance. I should have known better than to tell her the stories, than to take her to the Hidden World."

"Hiccup you can't blame yourself. She's stubborn, she always has been. She would've pried those stories out of someone else if not you."

"Yeah. I guess you're right." He chuckled.

"I'm always right."

"Alright, well I guess I'd better go find her—"

"Oh no, you don't. Not on that leg. Face it, Hiccup, we're not what we used to be, and besides, she's a grown woman; she knows how to get home. You and I are going to bed and in the morning, you'll apologize and we'll sort this all out. You'll see, everything will work out."

"Okay." He said, letting his wife lead him to bed despite the worry and guilt that gnawed at his heart. They left the tea their daughter never brewed to simmer over the hearth.

Later that night, Zephyr snuck into the room she shared with her brother through the hatch they installed years ago for exactly nights like this. It acted like the portal to a better world when the one they lived in simply became too dark to see in. She carefully closed it behind her and latched, then turned around, only to find her younger brother standing in the middle of their room, waiting. She jumped, throwing her hand over chest to steady her racing heartbeat.

"Don't scare me like that, Nuff!" She whispered, breathing deeply to calm herself.

"Sorry. I couldn't sleep. I heard what dad said to you…and…"

"Don't tell me you agree?"

"Are you kidding me? If anyone can figure out how to train a dragon from scratch, it's you. I just want you to know that whatever crazy plan you've got cooking, I'm in." Nuffink grinned.

"That's the little brother I know. Come 'ere!" She said, pulling him in for a hug. If there was one person she could count on to be in her corner, it was her younger brother. He may be three years her junior but he was just as much Haddock as she was and she knew exactly what to do with that kind of energy.

"Okay, Nuff. I know you're going to hate me for this, but in order for me to go train a dragon, you have to stay here."

"What?!"

"Sh!"

"Sorry. What?" He whispered.

"I'm going to pack my bag tonight, and take a boat to the Hidden World, and I'm going to train a dragon."

"But why can't I come?"

"Because I need you here. You know me better than anyone, if you tell mom and dad I need some time, they'll give it to me. I need you to buy me time, Nuff, as much as you can, okay?"

They stared at one another, not blinking but eventually, as always, she won and he sighed, agreeing. "Okay. Will you bring me back a dragon?"

"You know it doesn't work like that," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder, "but I'll tell you what," she continued, cupping his face, "I'll let you fly with me on my dragon," she grinned.

He looked at her dubiously, but ultimately shrugged and said, "Okay," smiling back at her. He loved his sister, and as much as he loved riding Stormfly with their mom, he could be content on Berk and never ride a dragon, but his sister wasn't like him, she needed to know.

"Atta boy."

"But Zeph? I'll only help on one condition."

"What's that?" She asked, packing her bag as he talked.

"You can't go alone."

"I already told you, you can't come."

"I know, but I'll tell Mom and Dad if you don't take someone else with you."

"Fine. I'll take the gang. Now help me pack." She said, gesturing for the waterskin behind him. With her brother's help, she was packed and ready to go in fifteen minutes, and they were off to Eret's hut, it being the closest.

Zephyr shared a glance with her brother as they stood outside in the cold. Eret was a smart man, having been a dragon trapper before, and his hut had only small windows, enough to let in light and hang stuff out of but not enough to for a body to slip out. She gestured at her brother and he sighed, kneeling in the snow for her to climb up onto his shoulders. She rapped on the wall twice, then waited a beat, and rapped a third time. She did this a few more times until she heard the crunch of leaves and snow behind the house, telling her that Eret got her signal.

"Put me down, Nuff!" She whispered, patting her brother's head.

Her brother scrambled to do as she asked but lost his balance in the snow, and although he caught his own footing, he'd let go of his sister sending her toppling into the snowbank.

"Thanks, Nuff. Real stealthy." She berated him, spitting snow out of her mouth as she shook it out of her hair.

"You were the one who said put you down!"

"Yeah, not drop me!" She said and accepted her brother's help hand, getting up and going around the house, seeing Eret waiting for them, shivering.

"What is it? You usually warn me before you sneak over to my house in the middle of the night."

"We're leaving. Tonight."

"What?"

"Pack light, and meet me at the docks in twenty minutes, we're going to train some dragons." Zephyr didn't wait for a response; she was too excited, and besides she didn't need to; she knew he'd come.

After that, her brother and she split up. He went to fetch Sigrid while she headed to get the twins. Once she was in position beneath their window, she hooted (an old signal they used to use when they needed to sneak out), and in no time a blonde head popped out from the window. Zephyr held up her bag and shook it, and in ten minutes the twins were jumping to the ground, bags strapped to their backs, grinning like fools.

"What's tonight's adventure, Z?" Mord asked, skipping around her. But Zephyr ignored him, setting a brisk pace for the docks, where her brother, Eret, and Sigrid were already waiting.

"Okay, what in Hel's name are we doing on the docks in the middle of the night?" Sigrid asked, her arms crossed over her chest, although from the cold or from anger Zephyr could never really tell.

"What do you think we're doing? We're going to the Hidden World and training dragons." Zephyr said, grinning ear to ear.

They packed the boat in record time, and once everyone was boarded, Zephyr had to do the hardest part of her adventure. She turned to her brother.

"Alright, Nuff. This is it. You can't come with us any farther."

Nuffink nodded, and although his bottom lip trembled, he was ever the warrior, and sucked it up, looking his sister straight in the eyes. Zephyr smiled, she knew how much he wanted to prove to her that he was strong, but she didn't need him to prove anything to her, she already knew. She opened her arms to him, and even though he said he was a warrior, said he was a man now, he ran into his sister's open arms, and hugged her tight.

"You be good, Nuff. Take care of Grandma. And try to make sure Mom doesn't kill Dad when they find out I'm gone." She said, and they shared a laugh, the last one they'd share for a while.

With the provisions loaded onto the boat and the stars shining bright above her, Zephyr and her friends set sail, waving a happy goodbye to the shores of the home they'd known for their whole lives.

Over a week later, their boat bumped against the very rock that Zephyr met Toothless at years ago. Eret lowered the anchor and with one last look at each other, they all climbed off the boat and onto the slippery stone at the edge of the Hidden World.

"Now what?" said Runa. She was expecting some grand entrance, but instead she was standing on a rock, in the middle of the ocean, overlooking a giant hole in the middle of the ocean. It wasn't what she expected.

"Yeah I don't see any dragons." Replied her brother, looking around.

"That's because it's the _hidden_ world you muttonhead." Sigrid said, knocking him upside the head.

"Oh. Yeah. I forgot about that part." He shrugged and rubbed his head, barely feeling the hit.

"You guys! Focus! We've come this far, we're not stopping now. Come on." Zephyr said, pulling out a whole bunch of small hand axes from her pack. "We're climbing." She continued, taking two axes and shoving them into the side of the cliff. Below her the water raged, as if offended that a human would dare to scale these walls.

But Zephyr paid no heed to the water rushing past her, and soon she noticed that her friends had followed suit, climbing down beside her. Their decent was slow, and whenever they found a ledge to stop on they did, resting and eating, and even laughing.

Despite the fact that they might be climbing to their deaths, they were having a good time, because they knew they were having an adventure just like the ones their parents told them stories about. All they were missing were the dragons, but that would change soon enough.

All in all, it took them another week to scale the walls of the hole, but when they got to the bottom there was no shore. Just more water.

"No. No, no, no! This can't be it! There has to be some way to get in there!" Zephyr said, banging her fists against the wall that they rested against: the last ledge before the lake at the bottom of the hole.

"Zeph, calm down. This is the Hidden World. Maybe humans just aren't meant to be here." Eret said, sitting down next to his old friend and throwing an arm across her shoulder.

"But we came all this way. I dragged you guys all this way, for a piece of rock? Some water at the bottom of the ocean?! This isn't what I promised you." Zephyr shouted.

"It's fine. We came along, not because of the dragons, but because we missed going on adventures with you, and this one promised to be the most epic one yet. And you know what? It was. It was amazing, and even though we didn't find any dragons, I'm glad we're here." Eret said, "We all are." He finished, gesturing at their friends, who stood in front of them.

Zephyr looked up at them, and sighed, they were right, but that wasn't all. "I just wanted to show my Dad that I could do it, you know? I want him to be proud of me." She admitted, looking down at her clenched fists.

"He is proud of you." Sigrid said, sitting down on the other side of her friend.

"Not us. But yeah, he's definitely proud of you. Wait, who's proud of you?" Mord added, confused.

"Her dad, you numbskull." Runa replied, pulling him down next to her, so that that five of them were sitting together again.

"Your dad _is _proud of you. He just…has a funny way of showing it." Eret said.

"Thanks guys. For everything. For being here, coming with me on this crazy adventure even though you really didn't have to."

"Eh, we sort of did. I'm pretty sure your brother would have killed us if we let you go alone." Eret said.

"True." Zephyr replied, and they burst into laughter, because even though their adventure had ended in failure, it didn't have to end in misery. "Alright, let's sleep here for tonight, there's a small cave over there that we can sleep in and regroup, and tomorrow…tomorrow we'll start the ascent home." Zephyr sighed, clambering to her feet and leading her friends to the cave she'd spoken of, although each step she took felt waterlogged, heavy.

The five of them shuffled to the nearby shelter, each one of them a bit disappointed and dejected but trying desperately not to show it. As they got closer, though, a soft rumbling from inside the cave caught their attention.

"Um, Z? I don't think rocks are supposed to make that noise." Mord pointed out, hiding behind his sister.

"Sh…I know. Stay here. I'm gonna check it out." She said, inching towards the cave.

"Zephyr, wait!" Eret yelled, but it was too late, she'd already gone in.

Inside the cave, something moved, something huge. She could faintly make out the outline, and realized that what she had stumbled upon was a dragon, an actual, live dragon. She approached quietly, carefully so as not to disturb it, but it was dark and the ground was strewn with pebbles. She kicked a stray pebble to the side, and the dragon opened its eyes: yellow, almost gold—she'd never seen that shade before. It growled and Zephyr scuttled backwards, her hands up. What she did in that moment could very much mean the difference between dying and staying alive.

"Easy now, I won't hurt you. Easy…" She cooed, but the dragon snarled more, baring its impressive array of teeth at her. It stood, or at least tried to, but there was a terrible gash on its front leg and with a grown not unlike that of a great oak, it fell back down, huffing and growling at her, holding its injured leg close.

"You're hurt….here let me see." She said, approaching again, her hand outstretched, but as soon as she came within a few feet of the dragon's injury it growled, building up a low flame in its mouth.

"Okay fine, I get it. You don't like people. But you can trust me, okay? I'm not going to hurt you." She said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a fish. This was supposed to be their dinner tonight, but she figured the dragon needed it more than they did. She held the fish out to the dragon and watched as it sniffed and eventually, deeming the offering acceptable, snatched the fish out of her hand.

"Wow, you must be really hungry. I get that. My brother gets hungry all the time. My grandma says it's because he's still growing, but I think it's because he spends too much of his time practicing with his sword instead of learning his charts." She said, absently rambling as she shuffled closer to the large dragon.

The dragon itself merely huffed, but it was curious now. This human wasn't like the ones it had known in the surface world. For one, this one was smaller, younger, and female, barely out of hatchling age, and for another this human didn't make any attempt to hurt him, in fact quite the opposite. So when she reached out her hand to him, but stopped short of just touching him, and thus putting her trust in him, he took a chance and nudged her. This one was good, and he would trust her.

She squealed excitedly and he looked at her, amused. She'd done it; she'd bonded with a dragon!

Now that he trusted her, she stepped closer, finally going towards his leg to take a look at it.

"May I?" She asked, and he huffed, letting her sit down beside him and examine the injury.

Now that she was closer, she saw that this dragon was littered with scars and her heart ached for him, no dragon should have to suffer so much. She pulled her bag closer, and took out the _Book of Dragons_ copy she'd spent months creating from her father's original after he'd prohibited her from taking it out of the study, again. She flipped through the entries until finally she found a match. She was staring at a Crimson Goregutter, and by the look of the scars littering its hide, this might be the very same one that her parents set free all those years ago.

"You know, I think you knew my parents. My dad's this one legged Viking who used to ride around on the back of a Night Fury. Maybe you've heard of him. My name's Zephyr. What's yours?" She said, rifling through her bag for a paste that she knew would help heal gashes, even on a dragon, but he just grumbled and laid his head down, showing her his great horns.

"Wow, you have really pretty horns. Hey, you probably don't have a name, maybe I could give you one? What about Bighorn?"

He huffed, turning away from her. She shrugged, beginning to smear the paste over his wound.

"Yeah, you're right, that's pretty stupid. Well you're kind of old…" She mentioned and he growled so she quickly amended her statement, "in the experienced way not the senile way! Maybe….Alderhorn? How does that sound?"

He turned to her, and let out a puff of air, but otherwise didn't respond.

"Alderhorn it is, then. Hey, do you mind if I call my friends in? I don't want them to think I've died or anything." She said, capping the paste and taking out some bandages, wrapping his leg.

"There we go, that should help." She continued, patting his leg and as she stood up.

"Hey guys! It's okay, you can come in!" She yelled, and not two seconds later her friends stumbled in, rushing to hug her.

"You're alive! And you found a dragon! And oh my Thor you found a dragon!" Sigrid said, staring at the animal in question.

"Guys meet Alderhorn. Alderhorn, meet the guys: Runa and Mord, Sigrid, and Eret. Guys, I'm pretty sure he's the same dragon that our parents rescued right before Grimmel's attack."

"Wow really? And he's cool with us?" Runa asked, staring at the dragon as he stared at them.

"Well I sort of had to feed him our fish to get him to trust me, but yeah, he's cool with us."

"So what are we supposed to eat!? I'm starving!" Shouted Mord, holding his stomach.

"We are literally above a body of water. We'll catch some fish and eat that, but for now we're eating berries, because it's all I've got and unless you guys want to go fishing that's all we've got. Alderhorn, could you pretty please start a fire for us?" Zephyr asked, trying to stay on the dragon's good side as much as possible.

Alderhorn grumbled, but ultimately spit a bit of lava out to light the cave. The five teens gathered around the fire, and Zephyr carefully leaned against Alderhorn, testing the extent of his trust, but rather than snapping at her he simply draped a wing over her like a blanket.

"Once his leg is better, I'll ask Alderhorn to take us into the Hidden World. For now though, get some rest." She said, snuggling into the dragon's side.

And for the first time in twenty years, a dragon and a human camped together again.

"Z….Yo, Zee-Zee. Zeph. Zephy."

"Zephyr!"

"Ack! What, what?! I'm up." She groaned, bolting upright and rubbing her eyes.

"Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey! Rise and Shine! Up and 'at em! Or is 'Up and over'? You know I can never remember…" Mord continued, trailing off into his own little world.

"It doesn't matter, I'm up." Zephyr said, getting to her feet.

"Great! Here!" Runa shouted, throwing a cooked fish at her, which smacked her right in the face and then fell into her hands.

"Seriously? Did you have to throw it at me?"

"Oh just shut up and eat it. We have a big day today, remember? And honestly, you're behind. I mean, Hel, even your dragon has already eaten." Sigrid pointed out.

"What?" Zephyr said, turning to see Alderhorn munching on a pile of rocks next to a suspiciously new hole in the wall.

"It was so cool, you should have seen it Z; he just hit the wall with his tail and bam! Bam, bam! Rocks fell and he's eating them! Man, I wish I could do that. Wait a second! Maybe I _can!_" Mord leapt up, running towards the wall at breakneck speed and banging his helmeted head against it, but the only thing that dented was the helmet.

"Okay, maybe another time. Whoa, since when did I have two sisters?" He said, swaying as he looked at Runa.

"Oh boy. Here we go." She caught her brother as he fell, and then lowered him to the ground. "Anyway, eat up, and let's go see what's so cool about the Hidden World." Runa said, trying to be suave and nonchalant but just as Zephyr and the rest of them were, she was brimming with excitement.

Zephyr didn't stop to question, knowing all to wells what the twins could get up to if they put their minds to it. Mord was a lot like his mother and her brother, but Runa was smart like her dad, so in some ways Runa and Mord were way more dangerous than Tuffnut and Ruffnut, and Zephyr knew well not to cross them.

She finished her meager breakfast quickly and went to check on Alderhorn. His gash seemed to be healing nicely, and today was the day the bandage was coming off. She unraveled it, throwing it away.

"Well, would you look at that! All healed up! What do you say we go in today?" Zephyr asked, looking him in the eyes.

He rumbled, and lowered his head a bit to make it easier for her to mount him.

"I'll take that as a yes." Zephyr said, grabbing onto his horn and swinging up onto his back. "Alright Runa, hand him over."

Runa shrugged, handing her limp brother up to Zephyr, where he could sit in between them, and then climbed up behind him, Eret and Sigrid followed shortly, and even then, there was room left on Alderhorn's back for more.

"I've never been on a dragon before." Eret said, all of a sudden getting a bit nervous, his home was the sea not the sky, but his father said that riding a dragon was something so amazing you couldn't really describe it, So Eret was willing to try.

"And I've never ridden one on my own before! Now hold on tight! Alderhorn, let's go!" Zephyr replied, grabbing onto his horns.

"Wait what do I graaaab!" Sigrid yelled, jerking backwards as Alderhorn ran out of the cave, stretched out his wings, lept into the air, and flew.

"This is the scariest thing…we have ever done!" Eret shouted.

"I know! Isn't it amazing?!" Zephyr replied, leaning forward.

"You and I have different definitions of amazing!" Eret screamed and Zephyr laughed at her friend, but her laughs stopped short when they finally glided into the Hidden World.

It was more beautiful than Zephyr's parents had said, and more beautiful than anything she had imagined in her wildest dreams. There were all sorts of dragons: small and large, bright and dull, short and long, and the most amazing part was that they were all living in peace. There were no hunters, no people, and so many babies! Little Nadders, Gronckles, Nightmares, even Zipplebacks! She'd never seen any of these dragons before and now it was like she was in Valhalla.

She laughed when a baby Zippleback bopped her with its two heads before speeding off in the direction of its mother. At least the babies weren't aggressive. Finally, though, as Zephyr calmed down from the excitement of actually seeing the Hidden World, she remembered the story her dad told her about when he came in here looking for Toothless. Most of these dragons had never seen humans before, and might be hostile, so she patted Alderhorn's neck and pointed, letting him know to stay low and out of sight.

Eventually they landed, and everyone slid off his back onto shaky legs, while poor Mord thumped to the floor, groaning.

"Ow….ugh, why does everything hurt? Wait a second, this isn't the cave floor…" He realized, bolting upright and looking around frantically. "Is this it? Did we make it? Are we in the Hidden World?!"

"Yup, and you slept through the whole flight." Runa teased, pulling him up off the ground.

"Aw man. That sucks. Oh well!" He shrugged, looking around at the glowing world before him.

Zephyr scoffed. Despite the amount of trouble he got into, or perhaps because of it, Mord never dwelt on anything for long. Except for food related betrayals. Zephyr stole a yak rib from him _once_ and she has never heard the end of it.

Now, though, he was more than happy to follow her lead, and search for a dragon of his own.

"So…?! Let's go find some dragons!" He said, running off.

"Mord, wait! You don't know what's out there! And he's gone. Why am I not surprised, Runa—" Zephyr turned to ask Runa to find her dimwitted brother only to see she had also run off following her brother further into the glowing rocks and spires.

"Don't worry, Z! I'll get them!" Sigrid said, lofting her hammer up high and running after them, screaming her Jorgenson battle cry.

"Sigrid! Ugh, why doesn't anyone ever listen!" Zephyr groaned and then sighed, "Come on, Eret. Looks like we're on damage control."

Eret grunted, following after the twins and Sigrid.

Eventually they caught up with them, and Zephyr tackled them to the ground. Her father may never have done that, but Zephyr learned a thing or two from roughhousing with the Jorgenson brood, and she would not be defeated so easily.

"You guys can't just run off like that! We don't know what these dragons are like, without Alderhorn we could be toast! Now let's go before…what? Why are you staring at me like I'm about to get my head blown off?"

The twins were silent, but their eyes said it all.

"There's a dragon behind me isn't there?"

They nodded.

"Run!" Zephyr shouted diving sideways and rolling to get a better look at the dragon. It was huge, yellow, definitely Mystery class, with a long sweeping tail and an overbite, and it looked like it was ready to kill her. Despite the amount of reading she'd done, despite the fact that she had saved Alderhorn and gotten them all the way here, she froze. This dragon was actively trying to kill her and she was terrified.

But the twins knew no fear. Runa screamed and roared, banging her fists on her chest and jumping high in the air to catch the dragon's attention. It turned to her, curious, because Runa looked an awful lot like a headless chicken at that moment.

"Runa, no, don't aggravate it!" Zephyr yelled, finally getting her bearings.

"Shut it, Z! I know what I'm doing! This thing wants to play, well I'll play. Buckaawwww!" She yelled, lunging at the dragon but stopping just short of actually hitting it.

"Hi. My name is Runa Ingerman, that over there is my close friend Zephyr, and if you could pretty please not kill her, we would really appreciate it, thanks!" She said, gesticulating wildly, confusing the dragon even further. "So, you see Mr. Dragon lady-dude-sir-ma'am-whatever you are, we don't want to hurt you, in fact, we're actually here to _make_ friends, so umm…hi. Oh, wow. You've got some really sharp looking horns on your face." Runa finished, finally noticing just how close she'd gotten.

The dragon was face to face with a human for the first time, and rather than biting its head off outright, she cocked her head at the strange two-legged, scale-less creature that stood before her. Something about this human had caught her attention. Perhaps it was the way it bounced in place due to nerves or excitement, or perhaps it was the way it stared her in the face. Regardless, this strange creature had protected its companions and has completely put its life in her claws all for the sake of pack.

She would keep it.

The dragon roared, took off from the ground, grabbed Runa by the shoulders, and flew away with the viking in her grasp.

"Runa!" Zephyr yelled, watching the dragon fly off with her friend. "Come back here you stupid reptile!" But the dragon only grew smaller and smaller as it flew farther and farther away. "AAAARG!" She shouted to the sky, but her cries were cut short as a hand fell on her shoulder.

"Z…we're gonna get her back, right?" Mord said, and for the first time on their adventure he was being completely serious, no jokes and no Thorston pranks.

"Oh…Oh, my Thor, yeah, yes. Um, oh, Thor. Mord, we'll get her back. Um…Oh, Thor, how?!" Zephyr panicked.

"You have a dragon! Don't you? Let's hop on your dragon and go get my sister!" He said, grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her up onto her feet. Zephyr mumbled small encouragements to herself and brushed the dirt off of her trousers. She whistled and soon Alderhorn was touching down on the ground before them; he keened, nudging Zephyr with his nose.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry for running off, but we have another problem. Let's go, Alderhorn." She said, patting his nose and swinging up onto his head in between his horns. "Coming?" She asked, holding out a hand to Mord. He grinned, grabbing it and jumping up behind Zephyr.

"You guys stay here, and stay out of sight! We'll back in no time." Zephyr said. Alderhorn roared, and took off into the air; he seemed to sense his rider's urgency, and he flew fast, chasing after an invisible trail only he could sense.

It took them much longer than Zephyr would have liked to find the dragon, but eventually they did find it, albeit accidentally, and it looked like it was in the center of a pack of very aggressive dragons, and right next to it, stood Runa. Yet she looked none the worse for wear. In fact, the dragon that took her in the first place was now protecting her from this pack.

"Sis!" Mord yelled, jumping off of Alderhorn's back and down into the flock, landing right on top of his sister.

"You muttonhead! What'd you do that for?!"

"You're okay!" He said, ignoring her in favor of hugging her close.

"Of course I'm okay! I've got Sunwing with me! She'll protect me." Runa replied, patting the golden dragon's side; Sunwing chirped.

"You _named _it?"

"I _befriended _it, dear brother! I've got a dragon! Except, these guys don't seem too happy about it. We're trying to work it out right now, but so far they don't seem to get that I'M ON THEIR SIDE!" She shouted, glaring at the dragons around her.

Sunwing growled, blasting magnesium at a dragon that had gotten a little too close for comfort.

"Why don't you guys just fly away?" He asked, shielding his eyes from the bright flare.

"We tried, but there's this big Monstrous Nightmare that keeps knocking me off Sunwing. He won't let us leave."

"Hey, guys! Anytime now! Alderhorn and I are getting roasted up here!" Zephyr shouted just as the Nightmare set its body on fire again, flying towards Alderhorn and Zephyr at full speed.

"You just keep him distracted, Z! Come on Sunwing, let's fly!" Runa said, getting on her dragon. Now that Zephyr was here and keeping the Nightmare busy, Runa might just have a chance.

"Alright, Sunwing, you know what to do!"

Sunwing roared, and blasted the nightmare with a purple-yellow fire that hit it dead on. It fell to the ground, nearly landing on one of the other dragons, had Mord not tackled the beast to the side. The rest of the pack screeched and glared at Sunwing, but ultimately elected to help their alpha instead of pursuing her. They fled into to caverns, fading from view.

"Runa, are you okay?!" Zephyr yelled.

"Okay? Am I okay?! I'm great! I'm on a dragon, Z! My very own dragon!"

"Uh, guys! Guys why won't he run away like the others?" Mord shouted, crawling backwards from the dragon he had saved mere seconds ago.

"It likes you, Mord! Don't worry, he won't bite; You saved his life!" Zephyr shouted, smiling at them.

Mord swallowed the lump in his throat and smiled a nervous smile at the dragon, whose head frill fanned out as he cocked his head and, right before Mord's eyes, changed colors from purple to yellow.

"Whoa! That's so cool! Do it again!"

The beast chortled, but did so, changing from yellow to purple to red and eventually back to yellow.

Mord, without realizing it, had inched closer to the dragon until they were staring each other eye to eye. Mord gave it a lopsided grin and stuck his tongue out, and the dragon did the same. He laughed, and patted its head.

But just as Mord touched the dragons nose spike, a roar echoed through the cavern. All three of their dragons jerked back at the sound, and Zephyr shuddered. She'd heard that sound before: when she was a kid and her parents took her and her brother to the Hidden World for the first time.

Toothless was here.

"Hiccup would you calm down?" Astrid said, watching her husband pace up and down the boat for what must have been the thousandth time over the past week.

"Astrid, it's our daughter we're talking about! Our friends' sons and daughters! They could be in serious danger, and we're not there to help them."

"We'll find them, Hiccup. They're not kids anymore, they'll be fine until we get there."

"How are you so calm right now?"

"Because I know that as much as you hate to admit it, Zephyr is a lot like you, and I know you. She'll be fine. She's smart and capable and tough, just like her father." Astrid said, laying a hand on her husband's arm in comfort.

"Aren't you worried, though? That something might happen while we're here on this godsforsaken boat!" He shouted, kicking the side with his metal leg and collapsing to his knees.

"Of course I'm worried! I always worry, I'm her mother. But I'm also worried about you, and Finn, and Valka, Runa and Mord, Eret and Sigrid. As a mother I worry about everyone I care about, all the time, but as a warrior, a _Viking_, I know that right now, the only person I can help is you. So talk to me, Hiccup. Let me in." She ran her fingers through his hair as he leaned his head against her thigh, trying to coax what's bothering him out.

"I'm scared. I'm scared that we'll get there and Toothless will show up with her body in his jaws and she'll have died with the last thing I said to her being that she'll never be good enough. I did to her exactly what my dad did to me when I first trained Toothless and now she's gone and done something stupid and reckless to prove me wrong, because _I_ wouldn't listen!"

"Hey, hey, it's okay. You're here now. When you talk to her next, and you _will_ talk to her again, you'll apologize, and you'll listen. But right now, there's nothing we can do. So come on, get up, and go get some rest. I'll keep her steady until morning." Astrid said, pulling him up to his feet and gently shoving him towards the back of the boat.

"Thanks, Astrid. Oh, Freya, I love you." He said, squeezing her hand as he left.

"I love you too, now go. Tomorrow, we'll find her."

"No, no, no, no! Mord! Get on that dragon and let's go. If Toothless finds us we're never getting out of here." Zephyr shouted.

"Oh, right, no big deal, just hop onto this dragon that you've NEVER RIDDEN BEFORE!" Mord replied.

"Just do it!" His sister shouted.

"Okay, okay, yeesh. No need to shear the sheep. I'm going. Alright, um, Eric? No. Olaf? Nope, too…great-uncle-y. Oh, Hue! Alright, Hue, let's fly?" Mord said and shrugged, uncertain.

Hue turned purple, but at Alderhorn's roar he grabbed Mord in his mouth and took off, throwing him so that he landed on Hue's back.

"Whoa. Did you just manhandle me? Did you just Vikinghandle me? Oh my Thor, that was awesome! Alright, Hue, let's go!" Mord shouted, and Hue, Sunwing, and Alderhorn flew off, speeding towards where they had seen their friends last.

When they arrived, though, it was already too late. Toothless had found Eret and Sigrid and he was ready to chase off the dragons that stood beside them.

"Eret! Sigrid! Let's go!"

"We tried, but Toothless won't let us leave! Our dragons don't know who to trust!" Eret shouted back, standing in between Toothless and the dragon he had befriended.

"Okay, when I say so, you get on those dragons and head straight for the exit!"

"What about you?!" He replied.

"I'll be fine!" She yelled, but she wasn't as confident as she seemed. "Here goes. Alderhorn, Mace!" She yelled, and Alderhorn roared, swinging his bludgeon of a tail at Toothless.

Toothless cried out, surprised and angry, but he was quick and experienced, jumping out of the way easily. However, this gave Eret and Sigrid the chance they needed to mount their dragons and fly out. Toothless wasn't alpha for nothing, though. He roared, long and loud, and the dragons stopped short; all but Alderhorn.

He'd been alive for far too long to simply be content with listening. He understood what it meant to protect a human at all costs, a friend. He'd learned that from Toothless. So, he barreled into his alpha, going against every instinct he had, roaring to scatter the other dragons.

They flew to the edge of the Hidden World, Alderhorn following them.

But Toothless caught up to them, growling, building up a plasma blast in his mouth; Alderhorn beat him to it. He flew straight towards Toothless, crashing him out of the sky and going straight for the exit with Sunwing, Hue, and the other dragons hot on his heels.

"Woooooooohooooooo! Did you guys see that?! We just blasted past Toothless! As in the King of Dragons, my father's dragon, my father…" Zephyr stopped short, noticing the Berkian ship bobbing in the distance. "Pull up! Everybody pull up! Into the clouds, we can't let my parents see me!" She shouted, urging Alderhorn above the clouds, her friends following close behind her.

As soon as he broke through the clouds, that panic and urgency and uncertainty melted away at the sight that lay before. She forgot what she was running from because what she saw was beyond everything else she'd seen. It was gorgeous. She'd only been up above the clouds a few times before, but never like this, never _free_. She was on her own dragon, and on her own terms, and it was "amaaaaaazing", she sighed_._

"Zeph…why did you run away? We have dragons now." Eret said, flying next to her on his dragon.

"Yeah, and so do our parents. Except our parents' dragons are trained and have years of experience riding with humans, but us? We have a day. Less than that!"

"Okay, true, but I've never known that to stop you. So why did you really run away?" He continued, pressing her for answers.

"I can't face him. Not yet anyway. I need him to see that I can _train_ a dragon. That I deserve to be here, in the clouds riding a dragon and one day sitting on his chief's chair."

"What makes you think he doesn't know that already?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe that he told me I would never be able to train a dragon! He doesn't believe in me, but I'll show him. I'll prove to him that I can do this."

"We. We can do this."

"And us!" The twins shouted from nearby.

"So…where to?" Eret asked, gesturing at the clouds around them.

"Wherever the wind takes us!" She shouted, letting their dragons guide them.

They flew the rest of the day away, laughing and learning more and more about their dragons. While flying, Zephyr pulled out her copy of _The Book of Dragons_ and looked up the dragons her friends were flying.

They learned that Eret's dragon, Wavecutter, good send out a sonic boom so powerful it broke trees, and they learned that Sigrid's dragon, Copper, was the first adult of her kind seen outside the Hidden World.

They flew until their everything was sore and until their stomachs were ready to eat them from the inside out, but they wouldn't have had it any other way.

Alderhorn began to dip below the clouds, the other dragons following closely, and continued to descend, almost at a harrowingly fast pace until suddenly he fanned out his wings and caught them on a gust of wind overlooking a large isle which held only burnt ruins at the forefront.

He landed in what was once the square of this village but now was little more than the charred remains of what looked like a weird guard post. Zephyr slid off his back, her legs buckling underneath her as she wasn't quite used to riding dragonback all day long, yet. Alderhorn caught her, and supported her as she regained the feeling in her wobbly legs again.

From the corner of her eye she could see her friends do the same, but she could also see behind them the foundations of huts. Whatever happened here was no accident, and no chaotic dragon attack. Whatever burned this village down did so with the desire to do so.

"This place gives me the heebie-jeebies.", said Sigrid, "Let's find a place to sleep and then get out of here A.S.A.P.", she mumbled, rubbing her arms.

"Sounds good, Sig. Come on, this great hall looks more or less intact, we can go there." Zephyr said, gesturing at the grand charred double doors of the village's great hall, which sat in the mountain above a bunch of steep steps that only Loki could have designed.

As they trudged through the village and up the steps, Zephyr looked around, and although most everything was burned beyond recognition, there was the occasional carved dragon head that looked oddly familiar and the rare fallen pulley system that seemed too genius to be from any mere Viking village.

What really got her was the statue adjacent to the great hall. It was a statue of a great Viking chief, one that she'd only heard of in stories. She ran the rest of the way into the hall and to the back wall, where painted shields of this village's chief family hung, and on the most recent one was the Viking from the statue and her dad.

This was Old Berk, and that statue was her grandfather, Stoick the Vast.

Zephyr let herself collapse onto the ground, staring up the shield. Her father wasn't a large man, but she never knew he was once this scrawny. Now, she understood why he knew exactly what she was thinking when she doubted herself. He used to do the same.

"Hey! Man, you run fast! Oooh, what'd ya find?" Mord asked, running in with his sister and their friends on his heels.

"I think this is Berk." Zephyr whispered, shocked.

"What? No way, I would no if there was a secret second village on our island." Mord scoffed, crossing his arms.

"No, not our Berk. Old Berk. The one our parents grew up in. The statue outside is my grandfather, and this place is the great hall."

"Is that…?" Runa began, pointing at the shield Zephyr sat under.

"My dad, yeah. Before Drago. Before Viggo, before even Dagur."

"We should get out of here." Sigrid mumbled, totally freaked out.

"Not tonight. We need to rest, and our dragons need to rest. We can sleep here; it's big enough for all of us. Tomorrow, we can fly out."

"Where will we go?" Eret asked.

"I don't know guys. I don't know."

_BOOM. BOOM. BOOM._

The Great Hall shook around them with the force of a great storm worthy of Thor's name. The dragons growled, scurrying to and fro, terrified of weather they had never really seen before.

Alderhorn was calmer, he'd been in storms before and he knew there was nowhere better to be than there to weather the storm, but still, his tail swished back and forth, betraying his uneasiness.

"Copper! Copper, calm down, girl! It's alright! It's just Thor!"

Thunder boomed outside, and Copper spun, nearly knocking Sigrid off her feet with her tail.

"I mean: It's Thor! The mighty God of Thunder! That hopefully, maybe, pretty please, won't kill us?" Sigrid cried, finally getting close enough to her dragon to hold it. She cooed at her, petting Copper's nose horn. "There we go, that's a good girl. Come on! I'm sure Alderhorn will let us hide next to him if we ask nicely." Sigrid said, leading her dragon over to sit under the great wingspan of Alderhorn.

He barely noticed them, more focused on how Hue cowered in the farthest corner, having turned a bright green.

"Hue! Hey, Hue! Buddy! Buddy, ol' pal, ol' boy, let's do that! Doesn't Alderhorn look super safe? I'll feed you fish if you come with me…." Mord sang, slowly but surely luring Hue away from the corner and to Alderhorn.

But Hue, Copper, and Sunwing weren't the only dragons to take refuge under Adlerhorn's wings.

A small pack of terrible terrors ran to him, mewling. He was used to this; the small dragons were easily frightened and found his presence comforting. What was strange, was the fact that they were here at all.

"Hey, Z? Didn't your dad say that Toothless took all of the dragons with him when he left?" Sigrid asked, snuggling up next to her dragon, who lay curled up in a tight ball.

"He did. We haven't seen dragons outside the Hidden World for over a decade. I don't…these guys shouldn't be here." Zephyr replied, numbly watching as one of the terrors clambered into her lap and curled up there.

"Can we keep them?" Mord asked, sticking his tongue out at the terror that decided his head would make a good perch.

"No, Mord. We have to take them back to the Hidden World, they're not safe out here." Zephyr replied, knowing in her heart that that was what was best for these tiny little dragons.

"What?! Just like that?!" Runa yelled.

"Just like that. These guys don't belong here anymore. They belong with their own kind, in a world that won't try to kill them." Zephyr said, petting the terror on her lap. "Get some rest, as soon as the storm clears, we're going out to explore the island. There's no way the terrors are the only stragglers here."

"Mmmmm, whatever you say, Z." Runa answered, already half-asleep and tucked under her dragon's wing.

Zephyr chuckled, and once she saw her friends were all asleep, she slipped from the pile of terrors she found herself in and walked over to the painting of her dad.

He really wasn't intimidating. She loved her dad and she respected him but she could see now why he wasn't exactly the most valued member of the tribe when he was a kid. He was scrawny and probably weak, too, but what he lacked in physical prowess he more than made up for in ingenuity and charisma; she knew that first hand. After all, there's no other way he could have wooed her mother.

Her grandfather was another matter entirely, though. She knew Stoick the Vast was, well, vast, but he also must have been a great leader. He looked like the kind of man who was both wise and strong, powerful and gentle. When faced with as great leaders as her grandfather and father, how could Zephyr ever dream of living up to those standards? What did she have to bring to the table?

Maybe she was always meant to be the renegade child instead of the chief's heir. Who'd ever heard of a girl for a chief, after all? Every single shield: a father and his son. Not a one includes mothers or brothers or sisters. Not a one.

There was no way she would be enough for her village. They'd see in her first week of chiefing that she wasn't good enough, and then what? She'd be out on the streets, or maybe she'd be exiled, condemned to sail the archipelago, only returning to catch up with her family.

"What's on your mind?"

Zephyr startled, her heart nearly leaping into her throat from fright.

"Sorry didn't mean to scare you." Said Eret, "Mind if I sit?" He asked and when she nodded, he sat on the ground beside her.

"Do you think I'll be a good chief?" She asked, staring off into the distance.

"No. I think you'll be great." He said, smiling.

"Even though I'm a girl?" Zephyr asked, looking down and watching herself absentmindedly pick at loose threads at the edge of her tunic. Eret grabbed her hands in his, stopping her from picking apart her clothes entirely and also catching her attention.

"What brought this on?"

"Look at the paintings. They're all Chiefs and their sons. And the Chiefs are all huge and strong, except for my dad, but my grandfather well makes up for that. How can I hope to be the chief of our people when they've never once had a woman for a chief?"

"Just because you're a girl doesn't make you any less qualified, Zeph. Over half our warriors are women, shield-maidens to the core, and on top of that they're wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, and friends. Everyday I am floored by just how much a woman can get done from sunrise to sunset compared to a man. There is no one more deserving or more qualified of being chief, than you."

"Really?"

"Really…and if that doesn't help, then know this: you've got so many friends and family that would fight tooth and nail for you. So, if you can't believe in yourself, at least believe that we believe in you. I believe in you, and I'll follow you until the day I die." He stared at her, letting her see the subtle flecks of green in his otherwise brown eyes.

"Okay." She whispered, looking back at him, "If you believe in me…then I'll try." She was ready to let her friends believe in her, but they just didn't see the shadows she saw. She knew she'd have to face challenges her forefathers didn't have to, and she knew that her time as chief would differ greatly from her father's but she never realized, that she didn't just have his legacy to live up to, but Stoick's, and his father before that, and his before that.

So although she had her friends to support her, she fell asleep that night, leaning against the wall beneath her father's shield, with the weight of the world on her shoulders.

"How could she be this stupid?! This irresponsible?!" He shouted, circling what must have been the hundredth island that day.

"She's your daughter, Hiccup and she's 18. Don't you remember what we were like at that age?" Astrid said, drawing in close to her husband.

"Astrid, we've been searching all night, and not a sign of her. What if we don't find her?" He yelled, as Toothless turned further East.

"We'll find her, Hiccup. We always have. This time is no different."

"Except it is different. It's my fault we're out here in the first place, my fault our daughter is out there riding a dragon she doesn't know how to ride in a world she's only heard stories about. She's not prepared and instead of teaching her how I shot her down."

"She's smart, she'll figure it out. She's learned a lot from those stories, and she's got the _Book of Dragons_ with her, so if she ever needs a hand, she's got your notes."

"What do you mean? The book of dragons is with me."

"The original copy is, but she made her own years ago, when you stopped letting her just take it willy-nilly."

"What, how do you know this?"

"I'm her mother, I know everything." She said, but at the look she got from Hiccup she scoffed and amended her statement. "I saw her go into your study one day so I looked in and she was copying the book."

"And you didn't stop her?! Why?"

"Honestly? Because I know you and I know our daughter. I knew one day, she'd need the knowledge, whether or not we would be there to guide her. Hiccup, she's not your little girl anymore, you have to see that she is an adult, capable of making her own decisions and facing the consequences."

"I know, I know."

"Hiccup, look at me. You've done everything you could, everything a parent should. She'll be fine. Now let's go find our girl." Astrid said, squeezing his hand and then flying out a bit, taking his wingman position.

"Uh…Astrid?"

"What? I told you, she'll be…what is that?" She asked, looking at where Hiccup was pointing.

Ahead of them was what looked like a flock of dragons. Except that that wasn't possible, because all the dragons were in the Hidden World. And yet there it was, a flock of a few Nadders and Nightmares and a lot of Terrors, led by a Crimson Goregutter, flanked by a Dramillion and Scuttleclaw, and bringing up the rear was a Thunderdrum and Hobblegrunt.

All of which had riders.

"Toothless! Clouds, bud!" Hiccup shouted, and he and Astrid took to the clouds, so as not to be spotted. When the flock was just below them, they dived pulling up next to the Goregutter, on which sat none other than their daughter.

"Zephyr?!" He yelled, completely shocked.

"Oh hey, Dad! Didn't see ya there, how're the clouds? Hi, Toothless. Sorry about tackling you out of the sky. Oooh! Stormfly! Hi, Mom!" Zephyr shouted, completely ignoring the million questions that her father was dying to ask her.

"Hi, sweetie!" Astrid yelled back, dropping back to talk to the other kids and giving her husband a much-needed moment with their daughter; she only hoped he'd use it wisely.

"Um, Zeph, what are you doing?" He asked, flying closer to his daughter.

"What's it look like? I'm flying!" She yelled, grinning from ear to ear as Alderhorn roared, flying up so that she could run her fingers through the clouds again.

All the harsh words he was going to say washed away in that moment. Seeing her happy, this happy, he realized just how wrong he'd been to ever doubt her and shoot her down. He should have been helping her, standing next to her when she first bonded with this dragon and flying next to her on her first flight. But he was there now, and e smiled, loving the way his daughter seemed at peace in the clouds, like he was.

"You know, you're way better at this than I was when I first started. You're a natural at it, actually. I'm kind of jealous." Hiccup said.

"You? Jealous? But you're _the _Hiccup Haddock. You're literally the first person to ever ride a dragon." Zephyr said, looking at her dad in awe, maybe she'd finally done it. Maybe she'd finally proven to him that she was capable.

"Sure, I'm the first, but first doesn't always mean best. In time, I think you could definitely hold that title."

"Really?"

"Really." He smiled, but ultimately shook his head and sighed, he hated this part of the conversation, but it had to be said. "Zeph, I don't think you have the time, though. These dragons don't belong out here, you know that, and as much as I would love to fly with you, side by side, we can't. These dragons _have_ to go back to the Hidden World, and ours with them."

"I know, but dad—"

"Zeph…"

"No, dad, listen! You didn't listen last time and look what happened! I'm on a dragon for Odin's sake! So just, listen, okay? Please?"

Hiccup nodded, not saying a word.

"When, we flew away from Toothless, we had no idea where we were going, but eventually Alderhorn landed on an island not too far from Berk. It's the only island he knew of that wasn't home. It was Old Berk. Dad…I saw the ruins. I saw the statue and I saw the shields. All the paintings of all the chiefs and their heirs and I get it. I get why you did what you did and why you are who you are, and I just don't know if I'm worthy of being your heir." She said, looking away.

"Zeph, no—"

"Not yet, anyway. I found these dragons on Old Berk. A whole flock, and if these guys didn't go to the Hidden World, imagine how many more could have been left behind? Dad, let me find them. Let me ride Alderhorn, for as long as it takes to find all the stragglers. I'll bring them to the Hidden World…and when it's time, I'll let him go. I'll come back to Berk and be chief. But not yet. Not yet."

"Would it even matter if I said no?" He asked, smirking.

"Of course, it would matter! I mean, I would do it anyway but I'd much rather do it with your support, dad. Being here without you was hard, and I don't know if I could handle years of us fighting, or what would happen after." She said, looking down at her hands.

Hiccup sighed. "Let's get these guys back to the Hidden World, and then we'll talk, okay?" He looked at his daughter and her smile fell, but she plastered a fake one on in its stead, and nodded. He let Toothless fan out his wings and bring up the rear but Zephyr looked straight ahead, barely noticing as her mother switched places with her father, until Astrid had dropped down onto Adlerhorn's back behind Zephyr, Stormfly gliding nearby.

"Mom!" She shouted, surprised but happy.

"Hi, sweetie." Astrid said, hugging her daughter and kissing her cheek.

"I'm sorry for running away, Mom, I just couldn't stay a minute longer." Zephyr said, putting her hands over her mother's, realizing just how much she missed her comforting yet strong hugs.

"I know, honey. I know. To be honest, I'm surprised you waited so long. I've been waiting for years to wake up to your Father shaking me in the morning only to show me your empty bed. Neither of you can see it, but you guys couldn't be more alike. I knew someday, you'd come out here to train a dragon. Granted, I didn't realize it would go quite like this…but you Haddocks are always thinking with your heart instead of your brain, so I guess this shouldn't have been so surprising. And you did a great job, by the way." Astrid said, smiling.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm proud of you, Zeph."

"Thanks, Mom." Zephyr leaned against her mother, taking comfort simply in her presence. Zephyr could swear her mom had magic powers, among which is creating an instant feeling of ease and safety in her children.

"So…what's this guy's name?" Astrid asked, patting Alderhorn's neck.

"Alderhorn." Zephyr replied, smiling.

"That's a great name for what I'm sure is a great dragon and friend. You know, this is the same dragon that your father and I, and the rest of the riders, rescued from hunters just before Grimmel's attacks."

"I didn't know, but I suspected. He had a different demeanor around me and the twins than the other dragons who'd never seen humans before. And he has scars that could only mean he'd been hunted. But that's all over now, he's safe with me." Zephyr said, patting her dragon, who warbled back at her.

"You guys really have a connection." Astrid noticed, impressed.

"Yeah, I guess we do." Zephyr said, smiling. She didn't say anything else because now that the pleasantries were out of the way, she was ready to face her mother's wrath. But it never came. Finally, the silence ate at her and she had to ask, "Mom, why aren't you yelling at me? Lecturing me?"

"Because that's not what you need right now. Disciplining is for children who do something because they don't know any better, but you knew the risks and you made a choice. I'm not going to scold you for that, because I know I raised you to face the consequences of your actions and own up to your choices. Right now, I'm here to support you and spoil your dragon!" Astrid said, scratching him behind the ear. He cooed, arching his head to give Astrid more access.

"Traitor." Zephyr mumbled, but ultimately gave in and laughed. "I missed you, Mom."

"Oh, honey…I missed you too. We both did."

"Is dad mad at me?"

"No, no. He's just…he's worried. You're his little girl, and his heir, and he doesn't know how to handle the fact that you don't need him anymore."

"What?! That's ridiculous, of course I need him; he's my dad! I'll always need him. I just wanted him to see that I could train a dragon. That I can be the next chief when he's ready."

"He knows that. But you know your father, he's not exactly the best at saying what he means. But he'll find the words eventually. Now come on, take me to the Hidden World."

"Why not just hop on Stormfly and fly there yourself?"

"I don't need to when I have a daughter who can fly me there just as well." Astrid remarked, hugging Zephyr tight.

"Ha-ha, alright fine, but don't say I didn't warn you!" She shouted, leaning forward, letting Alderhorn set the brisk pace they had before her parents found them.

They made to the Hidden World in record time, and once all the dragons were situated, and Toothless had made his unhappiness known about what had transpired during their escape, it was time for Zephyr to face the music.

Thy landed in a secluded place: a cave that was most definitely Toothless'. The dragons rolled around outside the cave, playing, all except Alderhorn and Toothless, both preferring to sit with their riders. Astrid stood silently behind her husband, supporting him as she always did, as he paced back and forth, collecting the thoughts that had scattered amongst the clouds.

"What you guys did was reckless, irresponsible, and dangerous; you could've have gotten yourselves killed." Hiccup started, looking each of them in the eye. "Having said that, I do recognize that you guys managed to stay alive. Not only that but you actually did what you set out to do: train dragons. And despite the worry that it caused me and Astrid, and your parents too," he gestured at the others, "we're proud of you guys. But you can't take these dragons back with you. You know that. It's not safe for them out in our world and its not safe for you in theirs. You'll have to say your goodbyes. We'll be safe here in Toothless' cave for the night, but tomorrow morning we're setting sail for home. Astrid." Hiccup said, nodding at his wife. They shared a look but finally she smiled lightly and stood up, taking the others out, leaving Zephyr and her father alone. He sighed, and sat down, wringing his hands in his lap and looked years older than the last time she saw him, even though that was only three weeks ago.

"I should have said something earlier, I know, but I hope you'll still accept my apology now." He began, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for doubting you, and not supporting you, and making you feel like you had to run away to pursue your dreams. The truth is, Zeph, I didn't want you to train your own dragon because I didn't want you to have to say goodbye." He said, looking anywhere but at his daughter.

"Oh, dad. I know you want to protect me, but you won't always be there to do so. You have to understand that I know 'with love comes loss' and yeah, 'sometimes it hurts, but, in the end, it was all worth it.' I'd rather ride a day on Alderhorn's back and then never ride again, than to have never ridden at all." Zephyr said, sitting down next to her father.

"You know, your grandfather said almost exactly the same thing to me when I was a kid. I think, in time, you'll make a great chief."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I know a girl who's wise beyond her years, strong beyond her skills, and kind beyond her heart. She's courageous, and has a good mind for strategy and a passion for fixing what's wrong in her world. I wouldn't want anyone else as chief." He said, pulling her closer and kissing her forehead. "I just want you to know that I'm proud of you….and that you're right. Who knows how many dragons didn't follow Toothless to the Hidden World? It's our duty to find them, but me and your mom and the other dragon riders…we can't be the ones to do it. It's up to you guys now."

"Really?"

"Really. But on one condition. When all is said and done, and all the dragons are here and you're ready to come back home, you'll let your dragons go, and you'll come home. Promise?"

"I promise, dad. Chief's word." Zephyr said, slamming her fist across her chest as she said it. A chief's word is sacred, and if that cannot be trusted than neither can the chief who swears it, so when she banged her fist over her heart she not only made a promise to return, she made a promise to be a chief. Hiccup nodded and hit his chest in response, he accepted her promise. They really were equals now and he had to accept everything came with that.

"Arg, alright." He smiled, getting up and stretching. "This back isn't what it used to be; what do you say we get some dinner?" He held his hand out to his daughter, and she took it, allowing him to pull her to her feet.

They walked out of the cave, his arm around her shoulders and everyone knew they would be alright.

"They're back! They're back!" Yelled Nuffink from the docks, running to get his uncles and cousins and friends.

Soon, everyone stood on the docks: Fishlegs and Ruffnut and Freydis, Snotlout and his daughters with his son sitting on his shoulders, Eret and his daughter, and Tuffnut, crying into his sister's chest.

Five dragons landed in Berk that day, and astride them, five youths that the village thought would never know the joys of travelling dragonback, but these teens knew it all and they were prepared for the world.

Reunion was a mess, as was tradition amongst Vikings. The Jorgensons, as always, showed their affection by burying Sigrid under a pile of her siblings, with her dad laughing at it all, remembering all too well similar moments from his own childhood. Fishlegs and Ruffnut were content to simply hug the breath out of their children, and Eret, stoic as ever, clapped his son on the back but his eyes shone with pride and he grinned despite himself.

Most interesting, was Zephyr's own reunion. Having gotten to see her parents already, all that was left was to pick her brother out from the crowd. But although he was the first to spot them, he was the last to approach them.

"Hey ZuZu." He mumbled, calling her by the age old nickname he'd come up with when he was first learning to talk.

"Hey Nuff." Zephyr replied, sliding down the side of her dragon to land on the ground in front of her little brother. "How ya been?" She asked, leaning against Alderhorn's leg. Nuffink, in lieu of answering her question, launched himself at her.

"I missed you." He mumbled into her shirt.

Zephyr smiled, and hugged her brother. "I missed you, too."

That night, the great hall feasted, yet again, in honor of their heir, for she had brought dragons back into their world, and although the whole of Berk knew they would one day have to say goodbye again, for now, it was enough.

It was enough.


End file.
